SAUDI PRINCE TALAL IN KATHMANDU- PROMISES INVESTMENT IN THE TOURISM SECTOR

Shaking hands with Nepal's President Dr. Yadav

SAUDI PRINCE TALAL IN KATHMANDU- PROMISES INVESTMENT IN THE TOURISM SECTOR

Source: eKantipur

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a member of the Saudi Royal family who is on a three day visit to Nepal, on Monday expressed his readiness to invest in Nepal, particularly in the TOURISM sector, in direct air links between Nepal and Saudi Arabia and philanthropic works. 
Although no concrete project for investment was floated during his private visit, he conveyed that he could contribute to Nepal’s tourism and aviation

with Nepal's PM

sectors.  
Dubbed the Warren Buffet of the Gulf, the prince, who is the 19th richest person in the world, held meetings with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala along with five other ministers—Finance, Energy, Information and Communication, Culture and Labour and Transport.
After meeting Koirala he said, “We discussed various investment opportunities in Nepal and are not restricted to one issue. We are a holdings company so we are interested in investing in tourism and the airlines sector. Hopefully, there will be more scheduled trips soon,” he told reporters. After having airlinks, we can connect Nepal to various Saudi cities, he said.
When the Nepali side drew his attention to opening a Saudi mission in Kathmandu given the fact that more than 500,000 Nepali citizen are already in Saudi Arabia for foreign employment, the prince immediately rang his country’s Foreign Minister in Riyadh and asked why it was taking so long to open a Saudi mission in Kathmandu. 
“If not a full fledged mission, a consulate office can be opened immediately,” the prince said. “I own a budget airline called NAS in Saudi which can operate immediately,” he said. 
The Nepali side also made a request for long-term arrangement of importing petroleum products from Saudi Arabia. It also proposed joint ventures in economic and industrial sectors. 
When asked about the grim situation of Nepali women workers working in Saudi, he downplayed the allegations. 
“Nepalis are respected in Saudi and we will pay attention to them,” he said. 
During the meeting, President Dr. Yadav conveyed that the Government has decided to confer on him Mahaujjwal Rastradeep Manpadavi.    
In a meeting with Prime Minister Nepal, the Saudi prince conveyed that he is ready to open a heritage hotel in Kathmandu immediately and said he wanted to invest in tourism related infrastructure. 
The prime minister asked him to invest in tourism, hydropower and agro based industries. 
He also urged him to assist Purvanchal University immediately from where the prince will receive an honorary doctorate in Law.

GOVT TO CONFER HONOUR ON ROYAL GUEST

Prince at TIA, KTM

The government has decided to décorate Prince Al-Waleed with one of the highest honours of the country - Mahaujjwal Rastradip. The honour was instituted shortly after Nepal turned into a federal democratic republic. 
The prince is on a private visit. “Nepal’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ansari had assured the prince that Nepal would confer on him one of its highest honours,” a highly placed government source told the Post. The pros and cons of conferring the honour were discussed at different levels. “When he met Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala on Sunday evening at Hotel Hyatt, Minister  Koirala recalled  of the envoy’s words and assured the prince that the government   would do whatever it took to do the needful,” the source said.
The prince will also be awarded an honorary doctorate by Purvanchal University. “In view of the promise made by our envoy and the dignity of our country, it is our moral duty  to honour him,” a minister told the Post. Prince Al-Waleed will visit Nepal again to receive the honour, the first for a foreigner. (PR)